Toronto Star

There were highrises, a skyline in Vancouver and even green glass before architect James Cheng put his stamp on the city, but it might be said there was no ``Vancouver style'' until he came along. Oft-cloned in the city itself and now being copied in other regions and countries, Vancouver style is tall, thin buildings soaring up to the sky with glass from floor to ceiling. Cheng, the architect behind the 65-storey, $430-million Shangri-La Toronto – a luxury hotel and condominium that is to rise on University Ave. at Adelaide St., across from the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts – has become synonymously linked to the revitalization of Vancouver's downtown in his partnership with developer Westbank Developments president Ian Gillespie. The five-star Shangri-La is slated for completion in 2011, the first foray for both architect and developer in Toronto following the pair's domination of the Vancouver market over the past decade. There will be 220 hotel suites and 352 residences as well as restaurants, retail and a spa. The prices for the suites will range in size from 800 square feet to more than 6,000 square feet and in price from $800,000 to $12 million.